Rokstarr

Rokstarr is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. It was released on 12 October 2009 in the United Kingdom. On 11 June 2010 a revised version of the album was released in Europe and the United States, appearing as Cruz's debut album there. On 22 May 2011 a second revised version of the album was released in Brazil, other South American countries and Europe.[2] The album debuted at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart and number eight on the U.S. Billboard 200. The title is a misspelling of the word "rockstar".

Rokstarr
Studio album by
Taio Cruz
Released12 October 2009
Genre
Length44:00 (UK version) 38:00 (US version)
Label
Producer
Taio Cruz chronology
Departure
(2008)		 Rokstarr
(2009)		 The Rokstarr Collection
(2010)
Singles from Rokstarr
  1. "Break Your Heart"
    Released: 13 September 2009
  2. "No Other One"
    Released: 30 November 2009
  3. "Dirty Picture"
    Released: 5 April 2010
  4. "Dynamite"
    Released: 30 May 2010
  5. "Higher"
    Released: 26 November 2010
  6. "Telling the World"
    Released: 20 March 2011
  7. "Falling in Love"
    Released: 15 April 2011

Background

Speaking to Pete Lewis of the Blues & Soul, Cruz explained the musical background behind the album: "This album shows quite a bit of scope. In that, while it's still got underlining hip hop, dance and R&B-type tones to it, it also has like rocky and indie rock elements. And lyrically, because essentially I come from a ballad place of listening to people like Boyz II Men and Babyface, many of the songs do tend to be about relationships in one way or another. But the difference this time is that, as well as the full-on love songs, I am having a little bit more FUN with it all!"[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
BBC(favourable)[5]
The Boston Globe(positive)[6]
Digital Spy[7]
Entertainment Weekly(B-)[8]
NME[9]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[10]
The Guardian[11]
The New York Times(favorable)[12]
Yahoo! Music[13]

The album has received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[14] Mike Driver from BBC gave an extremely favorable review, saying that: "Rokstarr bounces to a beat that feels fresh and vibrant".[15] Ken Capobianco from The Boston Globe says that Rokstarr is "an agreeable, singles-going-steady kind of collection that should make for endless radio fodder."[16] The New York Times review states that "There are vapid lyrics to navigate ("Hit the floor 'cause that's my plans plans plans plans/I'm wearing all my favorite brands brands brands brands," on "Dynamite"), but they don't disrupt the mood, which is emphatic and rarely sensual: turns out Mr. Cruz has no off switch."[17] Entertainment Weekly opined that "The only song of equal caliber to "Break Your Heart" on his Stateside debut is the Ke$ha-assisted sexting number "Dirty Picture". The rest of the tracks are forgettable and include a cut for throwing hands in the air ("Dynamite") and one awkwardly placed effort to uplift ("I Can Be")."[18]

The Rolling Stone review bluntly states "Cruz's singing lacks personality, and Rokstarr is ultimately a collection of decent, but generic, Eurodisco tracks without a star--"rok" or otherwise—to hold a listener's interest."[19] NME confess that "Although Cruz's downfall comes when he acts the player ('Break Your Heart', 'Dirty Picture'), it's obvious his real talent comes when he exchanges vocal manipulation for balladeering as on 'Falling In Love', and disregards romantic cynicism for a rather hopeful 'The 11th Hour'."[20] David Jeffres from Allmusic rated it 3 stars (out of 5) and concluded that: "The hooks are plentiful on Rokstarr and infectious as they come. while as a producer Cruz is the Akon-meets-will.i.am-meets- Xenomania package that radio and record labels have dreamed about. Sounds good, and the album does the whole way through, but lyrics are a sore point and when ballads appear to help round out the effort, just help emphasize how his words are trite. Still, when you let the clichés fade into the background this is a master class in what the mainstream wants for a soundtrack in 2010".[4]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 24,000 copies.[21][22] In its second week, the album tumbled to number 50, with sales of just 9,000 copies.[23] It dropped to number 101 on its third week.

Singles
  • "Take Me Back", although not officially a single from Rokstarr, was included on the album. The track, featuring Tinchy Stryder, was released as a single from his album, Catch 22, peaking at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
  • "Break Your Heart" was released as the first single from the album. It spent three weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart.[24] For its release in America, it was remixed to feature American rapper Ludacris and peaked as number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 where it remained top of the charts for one week.
  • "No Other One" was the second single released from the album. It was met by mixed to negative reviews from critics. It failed to meet the expectations or success of the previous single. It was only released in the UK. It reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 on the UK R&B Chart.
  • "Dirty Picture", featuring American electropop singer Kesha, was announced as the album's third single. It was released in April 2010 in Australia, and in May 2010 in the UK. It peaked at number six in the UK and number ten in Ireland. It reached number 16 in Australia and number 12 in New Zealand. The song debuted at number 96 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 without an official release, due to strong digital downloads following the album's U.S. release. It was sent to Top 40 and Rhythmic radio as the third U.S. single on 28 September 2010.[25][26]
  • "Dynamite" was released as the album's fourth single overall, and the first single from the revised version of the album. The song debuted at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 before peaking at number two, becoming Cruz's second U.S. hit single. It also topped Australian ARIA Chart. It peaked at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
  • "Higher" was released as the album's fifth single overall, and the second single from the revised version of the album. There are four versions of the song – a solo version by Cruz, a version featuring Travie McCoy, a version featuring Kylie Minogue, and a version with both McCoy and Minogue. The McCoy version was released in the U.S, while the Minogue version was released in Europe and Australia, and the version with both was released in the UK. The McCoy version was sent to U.S. radio on 30 November 2010.[27]
  • "Telling the World" was released as the sixth overall single from the album, and the first single from the second revised version of the album. It was the lead single from the soundtrack to the animated film Rio, and peaked at number 138 on the UK Singles Chart.
  • "Falling in Love" was released as the seventh overall single from the album, and the second single from the second revised edition of the album. It was only released as a single in some countries, including Spain. A music video was released on 18 February 2011.[28]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Break Your Heart"Cruz, Fraser T SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:22
2."Dirty Picture" (featuring Kesha)Cruz, SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:41
3."No Other One"Cruz, SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:38
4."Forever Love"Taio CruzFraser T Smith4:12
5."Take Me Back" (with Tinchy Stryder) (Version A^)CruzFraser T. Smith3:34
6."Best Girl"Cruz, The ArcadeTaio Cruz, The Arcade4:09
7."I'll Never Love Again"CruzTaio Cruz3:49
8."Only You"Cruz, SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:42
9."Falling in Love"Cruz, Alan KasiryeTaio Cruz, Alan Nglish3:31
10."Keep Going"Taio CruzSandy Vee, Taio Cruz3:28
11."Feel Again"CruzTaio Cruz, Alan Nglish3:40
12."The 11th Hour"CruzTaio Cruz3:36
Digital Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Falling in Love" (Acoustic Version)3:11
14."Come On Girl" (Live from iTunes London Festival '08)3:44
15."I Can Be" (Live from iTunes London Festival '08)4:08
16."I Just Wanna Know" (Live from iTunes London Festival '08)4:04
17."Moving On" (Live from iTunes London Festival '08)3:40
18."She's Like a Star" (Live from iTunes London Festival '08)3:44
2010 Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Dynamite"Taio Cruz, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Benjamin Levin, Bonnie McKeeDr. Luke, Benny Blanco3:24
2."Break Your Heart" (featuring Ludacris)Taio Cruz, Fraser T Smith, Christopher BridgesTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:06
3."Dirty Picture" (featuring Ke$ha)Cruz, SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:39
4."Take Me Back" (Version C^^)Kwasi Danquah, Smith, CruzFraser T Smith3:12
5."I'll Never Love Again"Taio CruzTaio Cruz3:49
6."I Can Be"CruzTaio Cruz3:47
7."No Other One"Cruz, SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:37
8."Come On Girl" (featuring Luciana)CruzTaio Cruz3:33
9."Falling in Love"Cruz, Alan KasiryeTaio Cruz, Alan English3:32
10."Higher"Cruz, Sandy VeeSandy Vee, Taio Cruz3:08
11."Feel Again"CruzTaio Cruz, Alan English3:39
Digital Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Dirty Picture" (featuring Ke$ha & Fabolous)3:40
13."Break Your Heart" (featuring Ludacris) (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Remix)3:48
14."Forever Love"4:12
American Bonus Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Higher" (featuring Travie McCoy)Cruz, Sandy VeeSandy Vee, Taio Cruz3:38
Spanish Bonus Track[29]
No.TitleLength
12."Dirty Picture" (Spanish Version) (featuring Paulina Rubio)3:39
Australian Bonus Tracks[30]
No.TitleWriter(s){{{extra_column}}}Length
10."Higher" (featuring Kylie Minogue)  3:07
11."Feel Again"CruzTaio Cruz, Alan English3:39
Brazilian Special Edition[31]
No.TitleWriter(s){{{extra_column}}}Length
1."Dynamite"Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Benjamin Levin, Bonnie McKee, Taio CruzDr. Luke, Benny Blanco3:24
2."Break Your Heart" (featuring Ludacris)Taio Cruz, Fraser T Smith, Christopher BridgesTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:06
3."Dirty Picture" (featuring Ke$ha)Cruz, SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:39
4."Take Me Back" (Version C^^)Kwasi Danquah, Smith, CruzFraser T Smith3:12
5."I'll Never Love Again"Taio CruzTaio Cruz3:49
6."I Can Be"CruzTaio Cruz3:47
7."No Other One"Cruz, SmithTaio Cruz, Fraser T Smith3:37
8."Come On Girl" (featuring Luciana)CruzTaio Cruz3:33
9."Falling in Love"Cruz, Alan KasiryeTaio Cruz, Alan English3:32
10."Higher" (featuring Kylie Minogue)  3:07
11."Feel Again"CruzTaio Cruz, Alan English3:39
12."She's Like a Star"  3:38
13."I Just Wanna Know"  3:58
14."Forever Love"  4:12
15."Higher" (featuring Travie McCoy)  3:38
16."Break Your Heart" (Agent X Remix)  5:42
17."Dynamite" (Ralphi Rosario Radio Edit)  3:39
18."Higher" (Club Junkies Radio Edit)  3:17
19."Dirty Picture" (Redtop Radio Edit)  3:24
20."Telling the World"Taio Cruz, Alan KasiryeTaio Cruz4:09

^ Version A is the main version of the song, which was released as a single, and included on Stryder's album Catch 22. It features three rap verses by Stryder and the hook and chorus by Cruz.
^^ Version C is a solo version of the song, which replaces Stryder's rap verses with sung verses by Cruz. This version does not feature any vocals from Stryder.

Charts and certifications

Release history
Region Release date Format Label
United Kingdom 12 October 2009[56] CD single, Digital download (Original Edition) Island Records
Poland 7 May 2010[57] Universal Music
United States 1 June 2010[58] CD single, Digital download (Revised Edition) Mercury Records
Canada Universal Music
Brazil 7 June 2010[59]
Australia 16 July 2010[60] Island Records
Europe 19 November 2010
Brazil 1 April 2011[31] CD single, Digital download (Second Revised Edition) Universal Music

References
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  2. Published by: Andrew C (29 September 2009). "Interview: Taio Cruz Reveals a small taste of his Current Projects || TheNext2Shine.com (Exclusive RNB Music Download) The Next To Shine". Blog.thenext2shine.com. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
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